5 questions lodged at 2024 Sonic Healthcare hybrid AGM

Q1. Could the CEO provide some early thoughts on what the second Trump administration will mean for our business, including the proposed appointed of anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy junior to run the all important US Department of Health and Human Services.

Q2. There was a 20% protest vote against the LTI grants at last year's AGM. What caused that? Did any of the 5 main proxy advisers - ACSI, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis, ISS and ASA - recommend a vote against any of today's resolutions? If so, what reasons did they give and has this translated into material protests votes. Also, why not disclose the proxy position to the ASX along with the formal addresses like many other companies do in order to allow for a more fully informed AGM debate.

Q3. In 2022, I politely asked you to embrace scheme-like voting disclosure which reports the poll results both on shares and shareholders. You have refused for the past two years. The ASX itself embraced this concept in 2023, as did governance bad boys Qantas. Your own share registry provider Computershare did it for the first time last week as well. Out of respect for your 95,737 shareholders, when disclosing the outcome of voting on all resolutions today, including this remuneration report item, could you please advise the ASX how many shareholders voted for and against each item. This will provide a better gauge of retail shareholder sentiment and insight into Australia's chronically low retail shareholder participation rates. Did even 2% of your shareholders vote on the remuneration report today. At Qantas it was less than 1% this year.

Q4. Whilst this question is not about Kate Spargo's re-election, it relates to the broarder issue of director elections and selection. Lend Lease has not been a great experience for investors during Nicola Wakefield-Evans' 11 year stint on the board, which finished last week. Did we take that into account before announcing her impending appointment to the board yesterday. Could the chair please summarise the recruitment process that led to Nicola's fore-shadowed appointment to the board on February 15 next year. Which recruitment firm was involved, if any, and did the full board interview any other candidates as a group as part of the process? Did any of our directors know Nicola before this competitive recruitment process?

Q5. Could Sonic's highly visible question responder Paul Alexander please summarise the extent and breadth of engagement our senior executives have with analysts, brokers, fund managers and institutional investors after each 6 monthly results release to the ASX? How does that compare with what the company does for its 95,000 retail investors. What is our approach to running an annual investor day and will retail investors be invited to attend the next one. Also, what is the best explanation as to why we have so many retail shareholders? Are there particular brokers that push the stock?

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